FDA investigating new group of diarrhea parasite cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday morning reported several hundred new cases, bringing the total multistate outbreak to nearly 2,000 individuals. The Food and Drug Administration identified a new cluster outbreak of the intestinal parasite Cyclospora, according to the agency’s case log. The new cluster included at least 72 new cases without an identified source. Officials began traceback protocols, but did not immediately share where the new outbreak seemed to have occurred.

The parasite has also been found in more places. CDC health officials initially cited only five states with the outbreak: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. As of Friday, the outbreak’s confirmed cases included people in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, according to the latest CDC update. Federal health officials identified Michigan as the state with the most cases, followed by Ohio and Indiana. Federal health officials cited 931 confirmed Michigan cases, while state health officials reported over 8,100 total cases and 160 hospitalizations.

Cyclosporiasis occurs when individuals consume food or water infected with the microscopic Cyclospora parasite, which infects the small intestine and causes watery diarrhea, bloating, nausea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Symptoms continue for as long as two weeks after a patient’s initial exposure to the parasite, according to the CDC.

Wasn’t the source already identified? Investigators initially flagged iceberg lettuce from a Taylor Farms subsidiary in central Mexico as the source of the outbreak, prompting the company to recall lettuce shipped across more than 27 states across the East Coast and into the Midwest. The FDA later reported that a sample of the suspected lettuce returned a false positive earlier this week. The false positive did not change the overwhelming data supporting Taylor Farms’ recall, according to the FDA. The agency added that it planned to continue its traceback investigation and collect shredded iceberg lettuce from the central Mexican growers.

Mexico’s Health Department reported Thursday that lettuce and water samples collected from Taylor Farms all tested negative for the parasite. Officials inspected the site for three days and tested ten heads of iceberg lettuce and four water samples, according to the department. Investigators tested five whole heads of lettuce at the farm, and five heads’ worth of the finished product after being chopped, washed, and disinfected. All lettuce and water testing returned negative results, the department said.